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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (April 21, 2022)
6 City News April 21 2022 Vernonia City News... At the April 18, 2022 City Council Meet- ing: Council Makes Decision on Milstein Property – City Administrator Josette Mitchell provided the Council with a time- line summary of the City’s interactions with Jessica and Aaron Milstein. The Milsteins have applied for permits for the construc- tion of a new road and house and expressed concerns to the Council they have with the cost of the newly adopted fee in lieu, which replaces the required street improvements. Mitchell asked Council whether they want- ed to follow adopted City code and continue working with the Milsteins for their per- mits, or if the Council wanted to go against City code and hold a workshop on the is- sue. Councilor J.R. Allen requested a work- shop, but three other Councilors stated they wanted to follow City code. Staff took time to explain the timeline and discuss it with the Council. Council voted 5-0 to instruct Staff to continue to work with the Milsteins on their permits per City code. voted 5-0 to approve Resolution 2022-05 to extend the Enterprise Zone Benefits award- ed to Control Solutions at 35851 Industrial Way, St. Helens, for a fourth and fifth year. Those benefits include property tax abate- ment. Vernonia is a co-sponsor of the South Columbia County Enterprise Zone, and must approve such requests. According to CET, Control Solutions invested over $1.1 million in construction of their manufactur- ing facility resulting in the creation of two new jobs in the Enterprise Zone. Mayor Appoints Bryson to Library Board, Appoints Parrott to Budget Com- mittee – Based on a recommendation from the Library Board and approval from the rest of the Council, Mayor Rick Hobart ap- pointed Jim Bryson to serve on the Library Board. Hobart also appointed Shelia Per- rott to the Budget Committee. Council Approves SDC Study – Council voted 5-0 to budget $10,000 for a System Development Charges (SDC) rate study. Staff told Council SDC charges in Vernonia are low compared to surrounding communi- ties. Council Approves Open Air Market Per- mit – Council voted 4-1 to approve a per- mit application for the Open Air Market for use of City owned property at the corner of Bridge Street and Grant Avenue for local vendors on Saturdays, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, from May 14 through September 24. The approval was contingent on the applicants applying safety paint at the site. Councilor J.R. Allen was the dissenting vote. Council Approves Two-Year Enterprise Zone Extension – At the request of the Columbia Economic Team (CET) Council Council Approves Use of Facilities for Jamboree – Council voted 5-0 to approve a request from the Jamboree Committee for use of multiple City facilities during the weekend of August 5-7 for Jamboree ac- tivities. Facilities and activities approved include: Shay Park for vendors and music; Anderson Park Horse Arena for Ridge Rid- ers Play Day; Hawkins Park for Logging Shows; Parking Areas at corner of Maple Street and Adams Avenue for dumpster storage and vendor parking, at corner of Washington Avenue and Bridge Street for parking, and parking area at Spencer Park for Jamboree vendors and patrons; Spencer Park for Softball Tournament, vendors, car and motorcycle shows, and Kid Zone; park- ing area at corner of Bridge Street and Grant Avenue for exhibitors and vendors. Citizen of the Month – Mayor Rick Hobart nominated Joann Beamish as Citizen of the Month. Beamish moved to Vernonia in 1969, and started driv- ing school bus for Curls Bus Service in the ‘70s. She was recognized for her 44 years of driving our community’s chil- dren to school. Topics From the Floor – Wendy Sears re- minded Council that the Vernonia SK8 park grand opening is on Saturday, April 23. Vernonia Police Blotter April 1-18, 2022 Reports Taken/Arrests • April 6, 2022 Informational Report taken • April 14, 2022 Report taken for Violation of a Restraining Order near Nehalem Street • April 15, 2022 Informational Report taken Citation/Other • April 3, 2022 Citation issued for Driving While Suspended and Driving Uninsured near Elm Street • April 14, 2022 Citation issued for Careless Driving near Scappoose Vernonia HWY Vernonia Police Department had 72 calls for service from 04/01/2022 to 04/18/2022. What’s Happening at the Vernonia Library By Shannon Romtvedt Upcoming Events Computer Help Sessions One-on-one computer help sessions are now being offered at the Library! Need help setting up an email account, navigating the internet, uploading documents to a form, accessing eBooks? Schedule a help session. Please call (503) 429-1818 to reserve a time slot for a Tuesday or Saturday afternoon. Low-Water Gardening and Native Plants Wednesday, May 11, 6:30 pm Presentation by Chip Bubl, OSU Extension Service and Columbia County Master Gardeners. Program sponsored by the American Library Association’s, Libraries Transforming Communities, Small and Rural Libraries Grant. Geological History of Vernonia Wednesday, June 8, 6:30 pm Presentation by Dave Taylor, Portland State University Department of Geology, currently researching in the Vernonia area. Program sponsored by the American Library Association’s, Libraries Transforming Communities, Small and NOTICE OF BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING A public meeting of the Budget Committee of the City of Vernonia, Columbia County, State of Oregon, to present the budget for the fiscal year July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023, will be held on April 26, 2022 at 6:30 pm. The purpose of the meeting is to receive the budget message, the budget document and to establish the agenda for future meetings. No deliberation will take place at this meeting and no public comment will be heard. An additional separate meeting of the Budget Committee will be held to take public comment. Any person may appear to discuss the proposed programs with the Budget Committee. This meeting will be held on May 3, 2022 at 6:30 pm. Budget Meetings will be held at the Cabin in Vernonia at 901 Park Dr, Vernonia, OR 97064 from 6:30-9:30 pm. A copy of the budget document will be available after April 26, 2022 at City Hall located at 1001 Bridge St between the hours of 8 am - 5 pm Monday - Friday. This notice is also posted on the City’s website: vernonia-or.gov IT’S TAX TIME Call your LOCAL tax preparer R Y O A LL PL P US LLC Edi Sheldon 503-429-1819 edisheldon@gmail.com Licensed tax consultant • Full service payroll Personal & small business bookkeeping • QuickBooks assistance CORPS, S-CORPS, LLC, Partnerships • Personal one-on-one service LTC #29629 - Oregon licensed tax consultant RTRP #P00448199 - designated as a registered tax return preparer by the Internal Revenue Service The IRS does not endorse any particular individual tax return preparer. For more information on tax return preparers, go to www.IRS.gov. Rural Libraries Grant. Ongoing Programs Writers’ Group 1 st and 3 rd Thursday of the month, April 21, May 5, and May 19, 6-7:30 pm For adult and teen writers with all levels of experience. Writing prompts, opportunity to share current work for feedback, and information on local opportunities for writers. Baby and Toddler Time Mondays, 1-1:45 pm Short story, movement activities, bubbles, and toys! Designed for littles, birth - age 3. Preschool Storytime Fridays, 10:30-11:15 am Stories, movement activities, and a craft for children up through age 6. Each week’s stories and crafts are based on a different theme. Did You Know?: Summer Reading Program 2022 Every year, the Library offers a Summer Reading incentive program for children, birth through age 14. Kids earn prize tickets for every hour of reading, and receive a book bag and a free book. Prize drawings include toys, science activity kits, gift certificates to local stores, and more. Along with the reading portion Vernonia City Council Meetings and Closures Please check the City’s website for details on upcoming City Council Meetings scheduled for 7:00 pm: Monday, May 2, 2022 Monday, May 16, 2022 www.vernonia-or.gov City Closures are scheduled for: Monday, May 30, 2022 Memorial Day Dates and times subject to change of our program, we have performers, hands on activities for elementary age children, and family storytimes scheduled throughout the summer. A full schedule of summer events will be available in May! The first day to sign-up for Summer Reading this year is Monday, June 20. Featured Resource: Historic Oregon Newspapers More content has been recently added to our digital, historic newspaper collection, hosted on the Historic Oregon Newspapers site: https://oregonnews. uoregon.edu/. The Vernonia Eagle is now viewable and searchable from 1922-1957. The collection also currently includes select years of The Independent, and Vernonia’s Voice from 2007-2020. We are scheduled to continue the project in March 2023 and complete the collection of the Vernonia Eagle from 1958-1974. For more information about the project, contact Shannon Romtvedt at the Library (503) 429-1818 or shannonr@vernonia-or. gov. We gladly accept donations to fund the digital collection through the Friends of the Vernonia Public Library. Current Hours & Contact Info: Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 10 am - 5 pm Tuesday, Thursday: 12 pm - 7 pm Saturday: 12 pm - 5 pm Contact Phone: (503) 429-1818 E-mail: library@vernonia-or.gov Website: www.vernonia-or.gov/ departments/library/ Social Media: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram The Vernonia Transfer Station is scheduled to be open on the 2 nd and 4 th Saturday January - October April 23 May 14 & 28 Dates are subject to change
